237. Causes of Karma

Krishna declared that it is impossible to give up activities; instead, a tyagi relinquishes the fruits of their actions (18.11). He elaborates on karma and says, “The seat, karta (doer), various instruments, divergent functions and daivam (divinity) are the five causes for accomplishment of all actions. Whatever action a man performs by body, speech or mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes. One of lower intellect, viewing through a poor understanding thinks of the ‘self’ alone as doer, he sees not” (18.13, 18.14, 18.15 and 18.16).

The seat is translated as the human body in our context and without the body, we cannot perform any karma. As far as karta is concerned, clarity has been given on many occasions that three gunas are the real karta for all actions. The nature and type of instruments change with time, like the invention of wheel, machines, cars, airplane, computers etc. Existence offers various activities using these instruments.

Daivam or intervention of divine force, is the fifth cause of karma. This is certainly a mysterious cause, beyond the comprehension of our senses. Daivam is the reason that karmas performed in similar circumstances yield different results, creating confusion.

Krishna says, “Those who are free from aham-kritah (egoistic) notion and possess pure intellect, even by killing these people he kills not” (18.17). Earlier also Krishna advised Arjuna to fight while maintaining a balance between polarities (2.38). Though these verses appear to create uneasiness to a beginner, they have the potential to help us attain deeper understanding.

It is an existential truth that every birth is followed by death. While birth is welcomed, death is treated with contempt, more so depending on the nature and manner of death. These verses exhort us to go beyond the polarities of life and death. They can also be taken as foundational verses to transition from a life of karta (doer) to sakshi (witness).